Final Adventure
by Fat Fred
Summary: Harry does not return for his final years at Hogwarts but, instead, has to undertake the immense task left to him by Dumbledore. Contains spoilers from all books.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One – Farewell, Privet Drive

Harry Potter sat on his bed at Number Four, Privet Drive, unable to believe he was finally escaping forever. He had packed away all his possessions, including the few pieces of muggle clothing he had worn in his miserable childhood. He would usually have tossed them carelessly into a trunk but this task was too momentous to be hurried. He almost fastidiously folded each item and, as he laid them in his trunk, let his memories come flooding back.

There was the shirt Aunt Petunia had died grey in preparation for sending him to the local comprehensive school, before they had known he was going to Hogwarts, Harry said a silent thank you to Hagrid who had rescued him from that fate. Harry also had fished out his schoolbooks from his primary school days, all of them covered in nasty graffiti by Dudley for which he, Harry, had got into trouble. Surveying his childhood memorabilia he could not shake the mixed feelings of anger, sadness and tremendous loss he always experienced when asked to talk about or even contemplate the years of misery spent with the Dursleys.

He thought about Ron's room at The Burrow and the array of possessions strewn everywhere and scattered throughout the house and compared them to the few items Harry had left and the few he ever owned as a child. Ron's family was by no means wealthy but, despite having second hand ownership of most items, Ron had been far more privileged as a child than Harry. He had a happy childhood, free of abuse and neglect, full of love and laughter. Harry remembered feeling jealous of Ron on the first day of Hogwarts and of his loving mother and large family. The stark contrast between their two lives was perhaps what made them friends and Harry did not in any way begrudge Ron his happy childhood just as his best friend did not begrudge him his acquired wealth.

Wand in pocket, Harry decided to go downstairs to say goodbye to his surrogate family for the last time. He had no affection for any of them but losing Dumbledore and fear of what was to come had left Harry too tired to continue hating the Dursleys: he regarded them as too pathetic to be deserving of his hatred, Aunt Petunia was in the kitchen, as was Uncle Vernon but neither of them looked up when Harry entered,

"I'd like to say goodbye." Harry began. "This is going to be the last time we see each other and I have a few things I would like to say." Uncle Vernon looked up from his golfing magazine, cruel humour spreading across his blubbery face,

"What makes you think we want to hear it, boy?" Harry withdrew his wand and with a non-verbal summoning charm drew Dudley into the room. Flicking his wand again he locked he kitchen door behind him and, simultaneously, snapped Vernon's magazine shut. Aunt Petunia gasped.

"WHAT ARE YOU…" She shrieked. Harry pointed his wand at her.

"You'll be in trouble…" Dudley sneered. Harry snorted

"The Wizarding World is at war – they wouldn't notice if I hexed you all to Outer Mongolia. Luckily for you I only have half an hour but I intend to make the most of it."

Petunia sank into a chair next to Vernon whilst Dudley made for the fridge.

'Dudley I'm sure you can go half an hour without eating…" Harry waved his wand just as he had seen Dumbledore do exactly a year ago and a kitchen chair slid across the room, knocking Dudley into its seat.

"I've lived here for sixteen years and I'm sorry to say I have no fond memories." Harry gazed at the Dursleys. "I'm happy to be leaving you all just as I'm sure you'll be thrilled to be shot of me. As much misery as you caused me, however, I must express some gratitude to Petunia." Dudley stared around at his mother. "You didn't have to take me in, Petunia, but you did and, in doing so, saved my life. You may not have known this at the time but this does put you at great risk." Judging my the aghast face of Uncle Vernon and the livid face of his aunt, Harry supposed Aunt Petunia had known this and that she had concealed it from her husband.

"As you know, a force of dark wizards is attempting to hunt me down and gain control of the Wizarding World. Their leader will be curious about the wards Dumb… my headmaster placed on me and will most likely try to torture you for information." Harry felt some guilt at the newfound terror in his only relatives' eyes. "I am going to ensure that you have the best protection we can offer you… by we I mean the Order… the combat league who are fighting Voldemort." He did not feel the need to explain away the Dursleys' confusion. "I'm also going to put additional security charms on the house… I know you hate magic but you will need it for your protection if you are to survive the coming war."

"Why are you doing this for us?" Whispered Dudley. "We hate you." Harry vaguely registered a surge of irritation rising in the pit of his stomach,

"I know and I'm not pretending to be fond of you either but I like to think I have honour and I also don't need you spilling secrets that would lead to my death." Dudley's piggy eyes seemed to fill with glee.

"Trust me, Dudley, you don't want to try and get me killed… Those people won't spare you and it will lead to massacre beyond your understanding. As I was saying, when I leave today I shan't return but protection will be in place. Now, I must ask you, Petunia to make this the time when you tell me what _I need to know_." Harry stared hard at his aunt who sat, as if in a daze for several moments. Then she got up and walked towards the door which Harry unlocked for her. He and the rest of the family followed her to what used to be his bedroom, the cupboard under the stairs. She opened the door and rummaged around inside. She withdrew holding a battered shoe box which she thrust into Harry's hands.

"Here." She spluttered. "It's all here."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked forcefully.

"Yes, except for the letter he wrote me the day Dudley got attacked because that one…"

"Burst into flames." Harry finished, He wanted to go through the contents of the box but, looking at the clock, knew that he had very little time. "Thank you."

He felt somehow awkward. He didn't want to hug the Dursleys, he didn't think he'd ever hugged them, but what was he supposed to do when saying goodbye to the only family he had left? He shook Vernon's pudgy hand and Dudley's, both of whom looked like they wanted to snatch their hands away. He gave Petunia a hasty kiss on the cheek and brought out two battered photographs from his back pocket.

"I didn't know if you'd want these…" He muttered. She took them gingerly. One was a photograph which must have been taken by Lily during the school holidays. It was a magical photo in which the people were moving and it showed the Evans family, Lily and her parents smiling and Petunia looking afraid and scowling. The other was of Lily, James and baby Harry." Petunia bit her lip and nodded before tucking them in her apron pocket. Harry summoned his broom, trunk and Hedwig's empty cage from his room before opening the front door and walking out of number four, Privet Drive for the last time.

He glanced at his watch and, as though they were reading his mind, Ron, Hermione and Arthur Weasley appeared with three loud "pop"s on Aunt Petunia's front lawn.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Persuassion

After fervent greetings from Ron and Hermione and a brief enquiry from Mr. Weasley as to the workings of a doorbell, they grabbed Harry's things and apparated to the backdoor of The Burrow. There Mrs. Weasley came scurrying out of the house, whisk in one hand, with icing sugar down her apron and flung her arms around Harry who was surprised at the comfort he found in her warm embrace. Dusting sugar off his sweater, he ran into the house to find Ginny waiting nervously in the kitchen. They exchanged a long and tender hug, neither of them wanting to let go of each other before everyone else came bustling in from outside.

Bill entered the kitchen with Charlie and Harry gave each a hearty handshake before enquiring after Fleur who, he was informed, was staying with her French relations at Madame Maxime's summer residence in London.

"I have to go over tomorrow." Groaned Ginny "I'm a bridesmaid." Harry grinned at her, knowing how much Ginny hated dresses.

A deafening bang followed by a cloud of acid green smoke caused everyone to pull out their wands. Standing in the middle of the kitchen were, what appeared to Harry, to be a mini Fred and George. About eight years old, the two red headed boys burst out laughing and started chasing each other round the kitchen brandishing Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes fake wands. It was only when one of the young twins let out a particularly high pitched scream that Harry realised they were not boys at all, they were girls with short cropped hair and very cheeky grins.

"Our cousins… Frederica and Georgina." Explained Ron. "Dad's brother, Norman's youngest daughters…" Harry snorted.

"Frederica and Georgina? You can't be serious"

"Deadly serious." Ron grimaced. "They, obviously, like to go by the names of…"

"FRED! GEORGE!" A tall, bald man with bushy red eyebrows stormed through the door.

"What do you think you are playing at?"

"We're playing _Die! Deatheater Die!_" cried one.

"I'm the Deatheater!" Added the other whose sister promptly leapt on her head.

"Stop this at once!" A short blonde witch apparated into the middle of the kitchen and the twins fell silent and stood still immediately.

"Sorry Mum." They both muttered looking at the ground. The witch proceeded to confiscate the fake wands which both turned into toads and hopped out of the window. The twins giggled then, seeing the witch's face stopped instantly.

"Merlin's Beard!" Said that bald man striding over to Harry. "Mr. Potter it's wonderful to meet you at last!" He began pumping Harry's hand up and down.

"Please call me Harry." The witch came over to shake hands too.

"Norman and Autorita Weasley" She shook Harry's hand rather less vigorously than her husband did. "So sorry about our girls… we took them to Fred and George's shop yesterday. As you can see, it was a BIG mistake!" Harry laughed.

"Not as bad as they'll be when they get to Hogwarts!" Everyone laughed awkwardly. Harry wanted to bite his tongue: why did he have to mention the very thing that everyone was most worried about? Before he could dwell too long on this, however, Fred and George senior appeared outside the kitchen window, having just apparated in from Diagon Alley. They waved and came into the kitchen shrugging off their cloaks which, Harry noticed were not the garish dragon skin ones from the year before.

Harry was sharing Ron's room, which was a very tight squeeze as another of Ron's cousins, Gregory, who was nine, was sharing with them too. As Harry stored his things away (his trunk had been magically shrunk to an eighth of its original size) he felt incredibly happy to be back at The Burrow which was practically overflowing with Weasleys and members of Molly's family, the Prewetts. Harry noticed, though, that there were not very many Prewetts and remembered Mad Eye Moody pointing out, in an old photograph, the Prewetts as members of the Order who had died during the last war.

Dinner that evening was outside in the garden, which Fred and George junior had been sent to de-gnome as punishment for their earlier mischief. Harry helped Ron and Charlie conjure long tables and dozens of chairs before assisting Hermione prepare large jugs of Gillywater in which sparking ice cubes tinkled enticingly against the glass.

The evening was a warm one and everyone was glad to be outside in the fresh air. Harry sat between Fred and George senior, glad to be able to discuss the joke shop and business and take his mind off the horcruxes which constantly invaded his thoughts. It was such a change to the past few months to be laughing and smiling and feeling, if just for a short while, that no harm would come to you. After as much of Molly's home made ice cream as they could manage Mr Weasley stood up and raised a glass. Everyone fell silent.

"To those who have fallen." Everyone else got to their feet and drank to the many they knew who had laid down their lives fighting Voldemort. Harry thought of his parents, of Cedric, Sirius and Dumbledore, all too conscious of their courage. Despite the fact that most were drinking Madam Rosmerta's Mead by this point, the toast had a sobering effect and the younger children, sensing a change in mood, hurried off to bed; leaving everyone else to have the discussion they didn't want to face.

Harry remained silent as Arthur quickly recounted to everyone the events of the night Dumbledore was murdered. Harry noticed Autorita Weasley shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"The time has come," Arthur said quietly, "That I ask all of you to do what is necessary and declare allegiance."

"Now, see here, Arthur," started Norman Weasley. "You can't honestly expect us to openly make enemies of You-Know-Who? There have been two murders already _this_ _week_: Hamish Macmillan and Dorathea Diggle… They weren't even Order members and that didn't stop Voldemort coming for them, did it?"

"That is precisely the point!" Bill Weasley came in angrily. 'No one is safe now so you might as well be on the right side! People are laying down their lives every week now and this is not the time for cowardice!"

"Don't you dare call my husband a coward!" Autorita snapped.

'That's not what Bill was saying." Everyone turned and stared at Harry. "What I assume Bill meant was that Voldemort…" Harry ignored the shudders and gasps. "wants us to be afraid and to divide and quarrel. If we are divided then he and the Deatheaters can quickly corner off individuals and gain power through intimidation and oppression. If we all stand united then we are the ones invoking fear in Voldemort. It's now the time for bravery and decisive action and there has never been a better cause to put aside your fears for. Of course we are all afraid but the important thing is that we are afraid for each other, not just for ourselves. The more members of the Order we have the safer we all are and the safer the future of the Wizarding World will be."

There were no pompous "Hear hear!" or churlish "You see!"s everyone sat in a sort of stunned silence for at least a minute. Hermione looked determined and Ron seemed slightly awed. Autorita spoke up again.

"So you really expect me to risk my children's necks for _The Cause_?" She sounded shocked rather than sardonic. Harry looked at her hard before replying.

"I don't expect it, no one does. I just know that my parents risked theirs and mine and that Arthur and Molly did and are doing so too. I also know that you're risking a lot more by standing aside and letting Voldemort take over."

"I'm not _standing aside.…_" Autorita looked incensed.

"If you're not in the Order then that is precisely what you are doing." Harry said very quietly before getting up and walking slowly away to bed.


End file.
